IN a different look at one of the AFL Women’s Under 18 Championships matches, we delve into some of the top statistical performers from the West Australian Under 18s taking on the WAFL Women’s All-Stars. We analyse how the teams stacked up, and some of the standout players statistically from the match.

TEAM COMPARISON

The WAFL Women’s All Stars recorded only 14 more disposals, but were plus-19 in kicks (148-129), whilst the Under 18s were plus-five in handballs. The more experienced side was far better in marks (41-23), whilst the under 18s laid a whopping 27 more tackles. The hitouts and clearances were dead even with 23 and 21 apiece respectively, whilst the Under 18s surprisingly had a few more inside 50s (30-25), but the WAFLW All-Stars rebounded 50 seven more times (25-18)/

STANDOUT PLAYER

It was no surprise to see potential top AFLW Draft pick Ella Roberts strut her stuff in a brilliant best on ground performance. She racked up 30 disposals – 22 kicks and eight handballs – seven marks, two clearances, five inside 50s and one goal. Where Roberts really stood up was in the middle two quarters. With her side trailing by 17 points, the talented tall forward slotted her team’s first major, then was the key reason behind the Sandgropers getting back into the contest. In that second term alone she had 10 disposals and took four marks, whilst she had 22 disposals through the second and third terms.

Going more in-depth about her efficiency, Roberts might have had an efficiency of 40.1 per cent, but with a whopping 56.7 per cent contested – including 10 hardball gets – both match-highs, whilst having only four handball receives. That effectively tells a story that no one on the field was more determined to win that ball than Roberts and get it forward at all contests. She was smooth by hand, nailing six of her eight handballs, for a total efficiency of 50 per cent.

OTHER UNDER 18S TALENTS

AFLW Academy ruck Lauren Wakfer was strong in the ruck with 14 disposals, 20 hitouts, five clearances and laid nine tackles. Like Roberts, Wakfer had a big second term massing six disposals, whilst for the game, 14 of her 20 hitouts came from ball ups, and five at the centre bounce. In both those measures she ranked number one of the field. The South Fremantle prospect also won five free kicks.

Bottom-age talents Jaime Henry and Kaitlyn Srhoj both played well, with the but surprisingly their breakdown of contested and uncontested possessions might surprise. The strong inside presence of Henry had more of an influence on the outside, receiving the handball 11 times, and having 15 of her 22 possessions on the outside. She delivered the ball by hand effectively 11 out of 13 times. For Srhoj, she won a massive 11 of her 14 possessions at the coalface, and was still able to be effective at just under 50 per cent of the time. She had the least handball receives (two) of any Under 18s player with 10 or more disposals.

WAFLW ALL STARS KEY STATS

With so many contested midfielders in the side, the All Stars had plenty of options to rotate in and out of the midfield. Chloe Wrigley recorded the most disposals of any player on her side with 24 touches running at 50 per cent for both her contested rate and kicking efficiency, but was 70 per cent by hand. She won the loose ball eight times, the hard ball five times and the handball receive seven times for three clearances, three inside 50s and three rebound 50s. Reigning Dhara Kerr Medallist Ella Smith loves the contested ball, but had more time and space on the outside in this game, winning 13 of her 22 possessions in that area. She had a team-high nine handball receives, and won the loose ball five times. She finished with a disposal efficiency of 60 per cent.

The player with the highest disposal efficiency were Peel Thunder’s Jaide Britton and Swan Districts’ Jessica Cox. The athletic winer had 13 disposals, of which nine were effective, making it a 69.2 per cent efficiency. Cox, known for her penetrating kick actually only had the five short kicks that proved effective, but she finished with nine out of 12 effective disposals. Considering she ran at more than 50 per cent contested, it was an impressive feat.